Results of a recent survey, “Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens,” found that kids spend a lot of time each day with entertainment media (5:55 total hours (tweens)/8:56 total hours (teens)). Other findings included:
● Boys prefer games; girls prefer social media. Every day, teen boys play, on average, about an hour of video games; girls play 7 minutes. Teen girls spend 1:32 hours on social media; boys spend 52 minutes.
● Only 10% of teens say social media is their favorite media pastime, but 45% of them still use it every day.
● 53% of tweens have their own tablets; 67% of teens have smartphones.
● Only 3% of media use is about creating content.
● Only 32% of teens say their parents know what they do online or on social media; only 29% say parents know about the apps they use.
● 54% of teens in low-income homes have laptops; 92% of teens in high-income homes do.
● 51% of teens in low-income homes have smartphones; 78% in high-income homes do.
● Teens from lower-income homes spend 2:45 hours more a day with media than teens from higher-income homes.
